Learn Hardcore Portuguese (Portugal): Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todos os dias. - I study grammar and spelling in Portuguese every day.

Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todos os dias.

I study grammar and spelling in Portuguese every day.

Breakdown of Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todos os dias.

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Questions & Answers about Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todos os dias.

Do I need to say Eu, or can I just say Estudo gramática e ortografia…?

You don’t need to say Eu.

In Portuguese (especially European Portuguese), the subject pronoun is often dropped because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Eu estudo gramática… = I study grammar…
Estudo gramática… = I study grammar… (the eu is understood from -o in estudo)

Both are correct:

With Eu: slightly more emphasis or clarity on I.
Without Eu: more natural in everyday speech if context is clear.

Is estudo more like English “I study” or “I am studying”? How would I say “I am studying grammar and orthography in Portuguese right now”?

Estudo (simple present) usually means a habitual or general action, like English “I study”:

Eu estudo gramática… = I study grammar… / I (regularly) study grammar…

To emphasise right now in European Portuguese, you normally use:

Estou a estudar gramática e ortografia em português (agora).
= I am studying grammar and orthography in Portuguese (now).

So:

Habit/routine: (Eu) estudo…
Action in progress: (Eu) estou a estudar…

Why is there no article, like a gramática e a ortografia? Is it wrong to add a?

Both versions are grammatically correct:

Eu estudo gramática e ortografia…
Eu estudo a gramática e a ortografia…

Nuance:

Without articles (more common here): talking about these subjects in general, as fields of study — grammar and orthography as areas.
With articles: can sound slightly more specific or “theoretical”, like the grammar and the orthography (of the language), but it’s still often used in practice.

In everyday speech about what you study as subjects, dropping the articles is very natural:

Estudo matemática, física e química.
Estudo gramática e ortografia.

Why is the preposition em used in em português? Could I say de português instead?

Em português is the standard way to say “in Portuguese” (the language used):

em português = in Portuguese (the language you study or use)
Eu escrevo em português. = I write in Portuguese.

De português is not natural here and would usually sound wrong in this context.

You might see de português only in different structures, like:

um livro de português = a Portuguese textbook (a book of/for Portuguese)
a professora de português = the Portuguese teacher (teacher of Portuguese)

So:

Language you operate in: em português
Subject/area something is about: de português (book of Portuguese, class of Portuguese, etc.)

In your sentence, you are studying grammar and orthography in the Portuguese language, so em português is correct.

Why is português not capitalised like Portuguese in English?

In Portuguese, names of languages and adjectives of nationality are not capitalised, unless they begin a sentence:

português (language / adjective)
inglês, francês, alemão, espanhol

Examples:

Eu falo português e inglês.
Sou português.

Only country names and other proper nouns get capitals:

Portugal, Inglaterra, Brasil, França

So em português with a lower-case p is correct.

Could I say Eu estudo gramática e ortografia portuguesas instead of em português? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Eu estudo gramática e ortografia portuguesas.

Here, portuguesas is an adjective agreeing with gramática e ortografia:

gramática (portuguesa) → feminine singular
ortografia (portuguesa) → feminine singular
Together: gramática e ortografia → feminine plural
⇒ portuguesas (feminine plural)

Differences in nuance:

em português: emphasis on the language you’re using or studying in.
gramática e ortografia portuguesas: emphasis on the grammar and orthography that belong to Portuguese, not to another language.

In practice:

em português is simpler, more common, very natural.
portuguesas sounds a bit more formal or technical, e.g. in linguistics or academic contexts.

Does todos os dias need the article os? Can I say todos dias?

You must include the article:

✅ todos os dias = every day / all the days
❌ todos dias (incorrect in standard Portuguese)

Structure:

todos (all/every)
os (definite article, masculine plural)
dias (masculine plural noun)

This combination is fixed in Portuguese when you mean “every day”:

Ele trabalha todos os dias.
Eu estudo português todos os dias.

What’s the difference between todos os dias, cada dia, and diariamente?

All can translate as “every day” but with different feels:

todos os dias
- Most common, neutral:
- Eu estudo gramática… todos os dias. = I study grammar every day.
cada dia
- More “each day” / “every single day”, a bit more emphatic or literary:
- Cada dia aprendo uma coisa nova. = Each day I learn something new.
diariamente
- Adverb, more formal or written style:
- Estudo gramática e ortografia diariamente. = I study grammar and orthography daily.

For normal speech, todos os dias is the most natural.

Can the time expression todos os dias go at the beginning of the sentence instead of the end?

Yes. Word order is flexible for adverbs of time:

Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todos os dias.
Todos os dias, eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português.

Both are correct.
Nuance:

At the beginning (Todos os dias, …) it slightly emphasises the frequency, like: “Every day, I study…”.

The comma after Todos os dias is normal in writing.

How do I pronounce estudo and estudo doesn’t sound like “eh-STOO-doh” in European Portuguese, right?

In European Portuguese:

estudo (I study) roughly: [ʃˈtu.du]
- es- at the beginning before t → sounds like “sht”: “shtu”
- e is very reduced, almost not heard; you mainly hear sht-
- Stress is on the first syllable: ES-tu-do → ’stú-du

A simple approximation for European Portuguese:

“sh-TOO-doo” with a quick, light second syllable.

Note: in European Portuguese, many unstressed vowels are reduced or almost swallowed, especially e.

Why does gramática have an accent on má, and português have an accent on guês?

The accents show where the stress falls and the vowel quality:

gramática
- Written syllables: gra-má-ti-ca
- Stress on má → gramÁtica
- The á is an open vowel; the accent marks both stress and open sound.
português
- Syllables: por-tu-guês
- Stress on guês → portugUÊS
- The ê is a closed vowel; the accent marks stress and closed sound.

General rule:

If a word doesn’t follow the normal stress pattern, or if you need to distinguish open vs. closed vowel sounds, you use an accent.

You can’t remove these accents; they are part of the correct spelling.

Is the conjunction e (“and”) ever changed to ed or something similar, like in some languages?

No. In Portuguese, the conjunction e (and) never changes form:

gramática e ortografia
Portugal e Espanha
ele e ela

Pronunciation:

In European Portuguese, e is usually like a very short “ee” in English “see”, but often quite reduced in fast speech.

There is no variant like ed or et; it’s always written e.

Would this sentence be different in Brazilian Portuguese?

It’s perfectly understandable in Brazil, but you’d often hear slightly different phrasing there:

European Portuguese (original):
Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todos os dias.

Common Brazilian-sounding alternatives:

Eu estudo gramática e ortografia de português todo dia.
Eu estudo gramática e ortografia em português todo dia.

Differences:

todo dia instead of todos os dias is very common in Brazil.
de português (gramática de português) is more accepted and naturally used in Brazil for “grammar of Portuguese”.
Progressive aspect in Brazil is usually estou estudando instead of estou a estudar.

But your original sentence is correct and natural for Portugal, and still clear to Brazilians.